By Kira Jones, Communications Officer

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (or as we call it, “Breast Cancer Industry Month”) is less than a month away. It’s time to get ready.

Over the years we’ve seen it all: pink fracking drill bits for breast cancer, pink buckets of chicken, pink vacuum cleaners, pink handguns. And, a lot of these pink ribbon promotions do more for a corporation’s bottom line than for women at risk of and living with breast cancer. Some pink ribbon products may even increase the risk of breast cancer because they contain cancer-linked toxins, a hypocritical practice we call pinkwashing. But together we’ve made these companies change their ways.

So here are 5 things you can do to get ready for Pinktober:

  1. Brush up on our “Critical Questions for Conscious Consumers” so you’re ready to think critically about pink ribbon promotions—and help your community do the same.
  2. Support Breast Cancer Action through your own “Don’t Pink For Me”You can trust us because we’re free from conflicts of interest. Tell your friends and family “Don’t Pink for Me” and ask them to make a donation to Breast Cancer Action in your honor instead.
  3. Tell your friends to sign up for our emails: Make sure your family and friends are in-the-know about our campaign when we launch at the beginning of October.
  4. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Be ready to “like” and share our posts with your friends and retweet us using our campaign hashtag.
  5. Support our work and gather with others in the SF Bay Area Breast Cancer Action community at our Action Speak Louder than Pink – Food for Thought event on October 16 for a thought-provoking program accompanied by a delicious meal.

The best way to prep for the month-long parade of pink is to get ready to use the collective power we have to make change. We truly can’t make a difference without you.

PS. Wondering where the pink ribbon came from? Learn about the history here.